Belt Slippage On Landis #1

[lazyd]

I have a Landis #1 Stitcher that is set up with the old pedal drive. When I try to sew with it the belt slips. I have shortened the belt twice, it helped some, ----how tight should it be ? Do I need some type of belt dressing ? Also, Shall I keep peddling or is it best to convert these old machines over to run with a clutch motor ? Any one have any suggestions on this machine ? Thanks----------------Bill

[CowboyBob]

Bill,

The best way to tell if it's tight enough is when it don't slip anymore.These belts do get old

(like to rest of us) and don't work good anymore & you might need to buy a new one.

Bob

[amuckart]

If you're going to put a motor on it the only thing I'd say is please make sure it's reversible, and don't throw the pedals away! It'll probably outlast you and the next person might want to treadle it, and complete stands always seem to hold their value better.

Bob's dead on, you might just need a new belt. If it's a round leather belt McMaster Carr sell Urethane belt that makes an excellent replacement. It's slightly tacky but very flexible. I use it on all my treadles now. Search the site for "Urethane Round Belting" and you'll find it. It's hollow and joined with little aluminium joiners that you need to purchase separately.

[lazyd]

Thanks guys for the reply on my Landis #1. Now I will tell you the whole story. I bought it from a gal here in South Dakota, it had been sitting in a shed for several years. I cleaned it up and oiled it and oiled it some more. It sews good on about 2 layers of 10 oz. harness leather, but I bought it with intentions of sewing tugs because I do a lot of repair work on Draft horse harness in this area. I said I oiled it alot because it seems like it is tight. Like it doesn't free wheel like it should. I also have a Landis #3 with a motor on it , when you get that flywheel going , it's hard to stop! But I have a lot of problems with the #3 also. Thats another issue I'll have to ask about sometime. I would appreciate any advice I could get on getting my #1 to sew good, I'm going to try tightening the belt right now until it breaks, and then I'll buy a new one ! Thanks again------------Bill

[catskin]

While this will not keep your machine exactly original but it will eliminate slipping. I did this on a big old machine, I replaced the belt with sprockets and a chain. In my case I used sprockets and chain from 2 bikes with very little machineing and drilling 6 small holes I was able to put a sprocket on the side of the clutch pulley and one on the side of the pulley on the fly wheel on the machine.

All this without harming the pulleys so it could be put back to belt drive in about half an hour if I chose to. Now I can start out with the needle touching the leather and go through 7/8 leather just stepping on the clutch pedal. Don't see why it would not work even if you stay with the treadle drive.

[amuckart]

The other thing you can do if you're using a leather belt is get it moving and rub a chunk of rosin on the inside of the belt.

If the head is stiff though that could be part of the reason. It's a much smaller scale I know, but I have a 201k which had exactly the same problem, the belt was plenty tight but it still slipped and the machine was heavy to turn over. It wasn't until I got *all* the old oil and grease out of it and re-lubed it with syntex that it started running well. Now it runs like a dream with very little pressure on the pedal.

Something I've found quite effective for cleaning out machines that have been sitting for a while is brake and parts cleaner. It's not great on any paintwork that you care a lot about but if you're willing to throw a few cans of the stuff at the problem it'll get darn near anything moving again without having to strip the whole machine.

[busted]

Thanks guys for the reply on my Landis #1. Now I will tell you the whole story. I bought it from a gal here in South Dakota, it had been sitting in a shed for several years. I cleaned it up and oiled it and oiled it some more. It sews good on about 2 layers of 10 oz. harness leather, but I bought it with intentions of sewing tugs because I do a lot of repair work on Draft horse harness in this area. I said I oiled it alot because it seems like it is tight. Like it doesn't free wheel like it should. I also have a Landis #3 with a motor on it , when you get that flywheel going , it's hard to stop! But I have a lot of problems with the #3 also. Thats another issue I'll have to ask about sometime. I would appreciate any advice I could get on getting my #1 to sew good, I'm going to try tightening the belt right now until it breaks, and then I'll buy a new one ! Thanks again------------Bill

I made a belt for the #1 I had. I took two pieces of 10 oz material cut to the length needed lap skive both ends on the top piece and on the bottom piece glue the pieces together at the skive. make the pieces

180 degrees apart and sew them with a single pass of 277 down the middle. Next take your #3 edger and round the new belt to fit the pulley. Mine was around 1\2" when I finished. And last but not least use either the wire splice from your old belt or make a new one. Cut your new belt and fit the wire splice to it. It will stretch just make a new hole and move the wire loop. You should be able to find a powered stand for the #1 and leave the peddles in place. I found one in Ohio. The guy that invented the #1 was a genius it is very simple to work on. It should sew 7/8" with no problem. I was sewing 3 pieces of 10 oz with out trouble. I had the stitch down to 5 spi it was very nice top and bottom.

The guy that bought out Landis inventory has a shop in Indiana his phone is 217 543 3464 I can't think of his name.

The Smithsonian web site there is a book for the Landis #1 that you can download.

Do you have the original needles? You need to obtain some before the sell for gold. The last I bought were 2.00 a piece. Needles rage in size from 180 to 280 and 300 needle will work for the 7 cord. You can use the 794 needles but you would have to retime the needle bar. There was a guy on Ferdco swap board that had some Landis #1 stuff for sale. If it is still for sale you should grab it.

In the bobbin shuttle there are two pieces of leather on either end of the shuttle if the shuttle moves back and forth more than 3\8" these pieces need to be replaced. They hold the bobbin close to the loop maker. Does your machine have the wax pot still attached to the front of the machine?

Everything you have oiled needs taken apart and the rust removed from all rotating/sliding parts. DO NOT use grease in the back of the hand crank cam. You should take the hand crank off and clean and

free up the cam followers.

One more thing DO NOT use nylon thread on this machine it will not work. Use a good quality linen thread. 5, 6, or 7 cord I used the stuff from Campbell.

Good luck this is very nice machine

[catskin]

I made a belt for the #1 I had. I took two pieces of 10 oz material cut to the length needed lap skive both ends on the top piece and on the bottom piece glue the pieces together at the skive. make the pieces

180 degrees apart and sew them with a single pass of 277 down the middle. Next take your #3 edger and round the new belt to fit the pulley. Mine was around 1\2" when I finished. And last but not least use either the wire splice from your old belt or make a new one. Cut your new belt and fit the wire splice to it. It will stretch just make a new hole and move the wire loop. You should be able to find a powered stand for the #1 and leave the peddles in place. I found one in Ohio. The guy that invented the #1 was a genius it is very simple to work on. It should sew 7/8" with no problem. I was sewing 3 pieces of 10 oz with out trouble. I had the stitch down to 5 spi it was very nice top and bottom.

The guy that bought out Landis inventory has a shop in Indiana his phone is 217 543 3464 I can't think of his name.

The Smithsonian web site there is a book for the Landis #1 that you can download.

Do you have the original needles? You need to obtain some before the sell for gold. The last I bought were 2.00 a piece. Needles rage in size from 180 to 280 and 300 needle will work for the 7 cord. You can use the 794 needles but you would have to retime the needle bar. There was a guy on Ferdco swap board that had some Landis #1 stuff for sale. If it is still for sale you should grab it.

In the bobbin shuttle there are two pieces of leather on either end of the shuttle if the shuttle moves back and forth more than 3\8" these pieces need to be replaced. They hold the bobbin close to the loop maker. Does your machine have the wax pot still attached to the front of the machine?

Everything you have oiled needs taken apart and the rust removed from all rotating/sliding parts. DO NOT use grease in the back of the hand crank cam. You should take the hand crank off and clean and

free up the cam followers.

One more thing DO NOT use nylon thread on this machine it will not work. Use a good quality linen thread. 5, 6, or 7 cord I used the stuff from Campbell.

Good luck this is very nice machine

I know 2 people who have or had #1 Landis machines and the both told me they use the same needle as Pearson machines. So might be worth checking.

[busted]

I know 2 people who have or had #1 Landis machines and the both told me they use the same needle as Pearson machines. So might be worth checking.

I don't know about the Pearson needle, it probably would work. I think the number 7x23 needle would work too. I have a couple of boxes of the #7 needles. The needles for the #1 are becoming very hard to find.

I miss spoke on the owners location of the Landis stuff he lives in Illinois not Indiana.

[lazyd]

It sure is nice to talk to people who are interested in the same things I am ! OK, I shortened the belt some more and someone told me to rub it with bees wax. So I did that and it seems like it's not slipping any more. A package of needles came with the machine, it says Schmetz 331 LR. (I have no idea what that means) There are a few 200 and a few 230. No, I do not have the wax pot on my #1 but the #3 does, only I don't use any lubricant in it. Maybe I should though because Yes I do use nylon thread in all my machines. I thought everyone did these days ! What's wrong with nylon ? Also I have a question on the presser foot of my #1. My #3 has points on the bottom of the foot that match up with the stitch length you want. Should my #1 have the points on the bottom of the foot also because it doesn't. It is smooth ! I sure appreciate everyones input on my old Landis. Keep it coming, I'm learning alot!!! Thanks---------------Bill